The moment Lloyd was released, he stumbled back, gasping for breath. His hand clutched at his throat, trying to stem the flow of blood, but it oozed past his fingers, and it hurt, it hurt to drag breath down, but he greedily gulped it anyway. Blood spattered across his face, but he didn't care, he was too focused on being able to breathe.

Until horror gripped his lungs and froze the breath in his chest. "Al!" His shout was hoarse, but no less full of panic as the monster's arm burst apart and rejoined the rest of it in its relentless attack. There wasn't time to think! Without thinking, he reacted, lunging forward on feet that he refused to admit were unsteady, and he slashed with every bit of mana that he had. Demon Fang raced at the trunk of hair-monster-dark-

Please please cut through- "Edward, get him out!"